Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 529
"Recently, the price of goods in Northern Zhili has increased by about [-]% due to the relief of Shanxi and Shaanxi. There are complaints from the people, who believe that the price increase is caused by the Tianqi Tongbao issued by the imperial court."

"Your Highness...does the issuance of this currency need to be stopped..."

In the Chengyun Hall in July, when Zhu Youjian was a little irritable because of the hot weather, Li Changgeng's words and the memorabilia he handed over made him a little unhappy.

In the hall, Li Changgeng was sitting on a chair, waiting for Zhu Youjian to speak, while Zhu Youjian was frowning with the memorial about prices in his hand.

[As of June [-]th, the price of rice in Beizhili is [-] yuan per stone, water chicken is [-] yuan, fish and shrimp is [-] yuan, goose is worth more than [-] yuan, chicken is more than [-] yuan, and pork is worth more than [-] yuan per catty. Wen, [-] Wen for table salt, [-] Wen for each stone of bran, sesame oil...]

This book about prices allows Zhu Youjian to feel the changes brought about by the drought more intuitively.

If he remembers correctly, when he was training soldiers in Yanshan in the first year of the Apocalypse, rice was only 550 renminbi per shi, water chicken, fish and shrimp were 21 renminbi, pork was [-] renminbi per catty, and bran was only [-] renminbi per shi .

Calculated in this way, the price of meat has basically increased by [-]% to [-]%, especially the cheap fish and shrimp have risen to [-] cents.

At that time, he used fish and shrimp as meat for the four guards of Tengxiang. At the current price, if he used fish and shrimp as meat for the Ming army, it would definitely destroy the Ming Dynasty.

"Why is the price of fish so high?" Zhu Youjian put down the memorandum, knowing that the coastal people rely on fish, and if the price of fish is high, they can only eat rice.

"Transporting grain from north to south is extremely costly, and many ships have been conscripted to transport grain, otherwise it would not be enough to keep the price of rice in the provinces at the current price."

"The total number of fishing boats in Huangdian is more than [-], and those with a tonnage of more than [-] tons have been recruited. Only less than [-] are fishing at sea."

"In addition to the fact that winter has become longer in recent years, fishermen can only go to the deep sea in winter, and the price of fish will naturally not drop."

"According to the statistics of the Ministry of Household Affairs, there are nearly 20 fishing families in and outside the country, most of which live in Jiangnan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiaozhi, and Jiugang, and less than [-]% belong to Beizhili, Liaodong, and Yingzhou."

"The fishing price in Yingzhou is cheap, but the fishing price in Liaodong and North Zhili is very expensive."

"if……"

"Okay." Zhu Youjian interrupted Li Changgeng, he just needs to know roughly why the fish price soared.

He is not surprised that the price of fish has soared. After all, according to the historical trend, if Zhu Youjian did not vigorously develop maritime trade and fishery, the fish price in Beizhili during the Chongzhen period would have reached the level of more than [-] yuan a catty of fish.

Although the price of fish has risen at the moment, it is all because other meat prices are too expensive.

If it is true that the common people can't even afford fish and shrimp, then the increase in rice prices will not be so small.

"How is the immigration situation in Shanxi?" Zhu Youjian asked about the immigration in Shanxi, but instead of asking Li Changgeng, he asked Wang Chengen in the corner.

"Since the beginning of the new year, more than 20 people have been relocated from Pingyang, Zezhou, Qinzhou, Lu'an and other places. According to the situation that there has been no rain in southern Shanxi since the beginning of summer, it is estimated that [-] people will be relocated in the second half of the year. people."

Wang Chengen rummaged through the memorials of the relocation department, and when he found it, he responded to Zhu Youjian, and Zhu Youjian nodded slightly:
"In other words, the current population of Shanxi is less than 500 million?"

"Returning to Your Highness, it is true..." Wang Chengen bowed back, and Zhu Youjian also looked at Li Changgeng: "Has the price of goods in Shanxi come down?"

"Returning to Your Highness, compared to last year, the drop is about [-]% to [-]%. The main reason is that Datong, Taiyuan, Liaozhou, and Fenzhou have rained, and there is food in the fields, and the people's hearts are at peace."

Li Changgeng answered Zhu Youjian's inquiry, and further made a summary of prices in various provinces:
"The prices in the three provinces of Shaanxi, Hexi, and Sichuan are currently maintained by the railway transshipment of materials in Luchuan, Shandong, and Huguang. There is no change from last year."

"In terms of rice prices, Shaanxi is 480 renminbi per shimi, Hexi is 760 renminbi per shimi, Sichuan is about [-] renminbi per shimi, and Shanxi has dropped to about [-] renminbi."

The income of the common people in Ming Dynasty has not changed much in the past few years, basically maintained at the income of the year when Zhu Youjian divided the army into the fields, but the price of goods has increased by [-]% to [-]% compared to that year.

The only thing that can be controlled is the price of rice, but it is difficult to control it with Daming's current industrial volume.

If the number of steam ships and tractors can be increased by more than ten times, it is possible to restore the price of rice in northern Daming to the four years of Tianqi.

The embarrassment of Daming now lies in the lack of transport capacity and the speed of reclamation, so that the development of cultivated land in the Northeast is too slow, and the surplus grain in the three provinces of Jiugang, Luchuan, and Jiaozhi cannot be transported.

The price of rice in the three provinces of Cochin is basically around [-] yuan per stone, and the price of rice is still gradually decreasing as the local reformed laborers continue to reclaim new fields.

If things go on like this, even if the price of rice in the three provinces drops to [-] Wen per shi, Zhu Youjian will not feel surprised.

Improving transport capacity is not something that Zhu Youjian can improve with a slap on the head. Daming doesn't have so many skilled technicians for him to use.

Therefore, in the face of soaring prices, Zhu Youjian has no other solution except to be anxious.

"After the completion of the second batch of industrial zones this year, the construction of the third batch of industrial zones and the fourth batch of industrial zones will begin immediately."

Zhu Youjian gave the order to Wang Chengen, and at the same time said to Li Changgeng: "The Finance Department allocated 200 million taels of silver to the Military Armament Academy to build the fourth batch of industrial zones."

"The next official takes orders..." Li Changgeng complied, while Zhu Youjian was calculating when the fourth batch of industrial zones would be fully operational.

The construction of industrial zones in Daming takes three years as a unit. Usually, after one industrial zone is fully put into operation, the second industrial zone will follow closely.

Against the backdrop of the pounding of money and government and academic students becoming workers, the next industrial zone is often three times the output value and output of the previous industrial zone.

For example, right now, with the second batch of industrial zones fully put into operation at the end of the year, Daming's six-year industrial production capacity is [-] large high-pressure steam engines, [-] industrial steam engines, and [-] agricultural tractors per year.

Large-scale high-pressure steam engines are basically used on ships and trains, and industrial steam engines are used in various factories. As for tractors, it goes without saying.

Excluding one-third that needs to be sent to Qi each year, the number of machines left in Daming is [-], [-], and [-] respectively.

The train locomotives are still being assembled and used, but the annual usage is only about four to five hundred, so the rest can be used as ships.

"After the technicians of Tianjin Shipyard mature, they can be sent to several other major shipyards. The fourth batch of industrial zones can also be considered for deployment in coastal areas, Sichuan, Huguang, and Jiangnan."

"Except for the machinery needed for trains, all other machinery is put into the construction of steamships."

Daming's steamships are actually wooden steamships. If you want to build steel steamships, the current technology of Daming is not up to it.

No matter in terms of welding technology or steel production, Daming was not up to the level of using steel to build ships.

At present, all efforts to build the railway have already consumed more than [-]% of the steel in the Ming Dynasty. If you want to manufacture steel steamships, you must either slow down the speed of railway construction or increase steel production.

It is impossible for Zhu Youjian to do the former, so he can only wait for the industry to continue to put into production, and then increase the steel output.

According to the current speed, Apocalypse will be able to wait for the third batch of industrial zones in 18 years, and the number of all machines will triple. In 21 years, Apocalypse will welcome the fourth batch of industrial zones, which will triple again.

If Zhu Youjian Tianqi only took 24 years, then he could see the fifth batch of industrial zones put into operation.

At that time, Ming's industrial production capacity will reach that of the United States in the 60s, or even higher.

Tens of millions of acres of arable land can be reclaimed every year with machinery alone, and more than 2000 million acres of arable land in Daming can be planted and harvested with only 9 million farmers.

But by that time, Daming's arable land may be far more than this amount.

Zhu Youjian was still thinking about the future, but Li Changgeng saw that there was nothing to do, so he bowed and left.

Wang Chengen watched him leave, and said after a while: "Your Highness, after the tractors are sent to Qi this year, the number of tractors in Qi will reach more than [-]."

"In the next year, the industrial zone in Qi State will also be put into operation, with an annual output of [-] tractors. Is it true that the country's side..."

"Continue." Zhu Youjian glanced at Wang Chengen, but Wang Chengen's face was puzzled: "According to the price of machinery, the silver deposit in the palace is already less than one million taels, and it will be spent next year at most."

Wang Chengen told the reason why he asked whether to stop the transportation, because Zhu Youjian once said that Qi State had to pay gold and silver to transport the things that Daming shipped out of Qi State.

In this way, the industrialization speed of Qi State is naturally very fast, but the silver deposits of Qi Wangfu are consumed even faster.

Zhu Youjian was used to spending money lavishly, and his mind was often on the treasury, and he didn't pay much attention to his own treasury of King Qi's Mansion.

After Wang Chengen's reminder, he realized that his treasury of King Qi's mansion was also empty.

Normally, the income of Prince Qi’s Mansion is Zhu Youjian’s 10,000+ taels of salary, plus the share of Zhu Youjian’s post-war seizures and rewards after he fought under the name of Zhu Youjian.

However, in the past few years, Zhu Youjian has not fought a war, nor has he fought in name, so the income of Qi Wangfu is naturally only the salary of 10,000+ taels, plus the gold and silver that Jin Xuan ordered people to mine in Qi State.

The speed of gold and silver mining in Qi State has been unable to increase. In conclusion, there is still a shortage of labor reform workers, and the production of gunpowder has not increased.

As long as Zhu Youjian approves, Dangqi's gold and silver production capacity will also increase.

"Let Jin Xuan let go of his hands and feet to mine gold and silver. He can also call the labor camp workers in Yingzhou according to the situation. As for the immigration, this year only accepts the immigration of artisans and their families."

"The matter of gunpowder is also up to Jin Xuan to handle. In short, I have to see the output of millions of taels of silver every year."

"The servants take orders..." Wang Chengen agreed after hearing the words, but he still said afterwards: "Even if there is an output of one million taels, I'm afraid I can't afford to transport tens of thousands of machines every year."

"Can't bear it?" Zhu Youjian twitched the corner of his mouth: "My country is not imprisoned for myself, but for the emperor's brother."

"Since there is no money in the mansion right now, as an older brother, Brother Huang can't just sit back and do nothing, right?"

"You send someone to come and say that Prince Qi's mansion is unsustainable. Please Long live to send 200 million taels of internal money as food silver."

"200 million taels of meal silver?!" Wang Chengen's eyes widened. Whose family eats 200 million taels of meal a year, even if they hold shark's fin and bear's paw every day, they can't finish it.

"Well, 200 million taels of meal silver." Zhu Youjian picked up the teacup next to him and took a sip. Looking at Wang Chengen who was still in a daze, he couldn't help laughing and said, "What are you doing in a daze? Go quickly..."

"Hey... the servant is taking orders." Wang Chengen was called back to reality by Zhu Youjian's voice.

With a trace of embarrassment, he walked out of the Chengyun Palace, and then wrote a memorial to the poor in his own tone, and entrusted an eunuch to send it to Dading Palace.

He reminded the eunuch ten thousand times, so that the eunuch must not be curious to open the memorial, otherwise his head will be killed.

The eunuch was taken aback, and quickly nodded in agreement, then led a team of Jinyi guards out of the capital, and rode their horses towards Dading Palace.

Although the train has been repaired, the speed of the [-]-mile express is still much faster than the train.

Before dark, the memorial written by Wang Chengen was sent to Dading Palace.

In the summer resort hall of Dading Palace covered with sawdust, Zhu Youjiao, who is a bit fat, sat on a chair, eating seasonal fruits, and watching with a copy of "Travel Notes" in his hand.

The author of this travel note, no accident, is Zhu Youxiao's good eldest son, Zhu Ciran.

He has been reading Zhu Ciran's travel notes in the past few months, feeling the high spirits of Zhu Ciran when he set out, the helplessness when the hungry people in Shanxi, and the self-pity of the slightly poor in Shaanxi...

Zhu Youxiao can always feel the changes in the world between the lines of Zhu Ciran, and right now, Zhu Ciran is about to arrive at Jiayuguan in Hexi.

The [-]-mile road, ten months is obviously not enough, after all Zhu Ciran has spent five months now, but he has only traveled less than [-] miles.

Compared with him, Zhu Youxiao has been reading Xu Xiake's travel notes, and Xu Xiake is slower than Zhu Ciran, and has just entered the Hexi territory.

"Ten months is still too short. Brother Ran has to visit Minsheng. Brother should spend more time."

Zhu Youxiao saw that five months had passed, he couldn't help complaining to himself that his brother gave Zhu Ciran too little time.

"The slave also feels that, judging from this speed, two years should be enough to complete the journey."

Zhu Youxiao listened to Wei Zhongxian's flattering echo, and it was very useful. At this time, Wang Tiqian also walked into the Dading Palace, bowing and saying:
"Long live, a memorial has come from Prince Qi's mansion, which was sent by King Qi in his private capacity."

"Private identity? Hurry up! Bring it up!" Upon hearing that the memorial was sent by a private person, Zhu Youxiao worried that it was the memorial of Zhu Youjian's ex-fan, so he couldn't help becoming anxious.

Wang Tigan didn't dare to be negligent, and hurried forward to hand over the memorial with both hands, and Zhu Youxiao also quickly opened it and started to read it.

He was relieved when he found out that this memorandum was not the memorandum of the Fan Dynasty, but he became worried again when he saw that the memorandum said that the Qi Palace was unsustainable.

However, all his worries disappeared when he saw the words "Brother begging the emperor to allocate 200 million taels of meal silver", not only disappeared, but Zhu Youxiao's blood pressure almost rose.

"200 million taels of silver?!"

He was almost on the verge of breaking the sound, and what he said made Wang Tiqian and Wei Zhongxian dumbfounded.

200 million taels?Eating dragon meat is not so expensive, is it?This is enough for two 10,000+ people to eat meat every meal for a year.

What food money, this is clearly a money grab!
"..." Zhu Youxiao's hands were shaking. He thought that he would be comfortable after getting rid of the household department, but he didn't want to have another brother who was a rich man.

Two million taels of silver... His annual income is only 200 million taels.

"Long live... How about... politely reject His Royal Highness King Qi?" Although Wei Zhongxian didn't read the content, he could see the pain on Zhu Youxiao's face.

He asked tentatively, but Zhu Youxiao raised his hand twitching from the corner of his eyes: "No...you don't have to...give it to him."

"But right now I can't afford 200 million taels of internal funds..." Wei Zhongxian was a little embarrassed, but Zhu Youxiao's next sentence made him bleed.

"Stop the construction of Huayang Palace and Hanhai Palace, and raise 200 million taels of silver to the Qi Palace after the autumn harvest."

"..." Wei Zhongxian's heart was bleeding. You must know that Huayang Palace and Hanhai Palace, the construction of these two palaces, he can earn at least 1 taels of silver.

Now that the palace is closed, his money has to be wasted.

"Yes... slaves take orders." Wei Zhongxian, who was wailing in his heart, finally could only bow to him with a smile and cry, and Zhu Youxiao also shook the memorial on his hand:
"Also tell Cheng En, let him make a list of what Prince Qi eats every day, and tell my brother by the way, give brother Ran another year's leave."

The handwriting of Wang Chengen and Zhu Youjian is very similar, but Zhu Youxiao can recognize at a glance that this memorial was written by Wang Chengen.

He said that asking Wang Chengen to make a list was obviously teasing Wang Chengen, and his purpose was to give Zhu Ciran a vacation.

"Your maidservant takes orders." Wang Tiqian quickly responded, while Wei Zhongxian beside him was already in a trance.

Putting the memorial aside, Zhu Youxiao touched his fat chin.

He knew in his heart that if his younger brother saw his appearance like this, he might be buried by his younger brother, so losing weight became his next topic.

"From now on, the food silver in the Summer Palace will be reduced to ten taels a day, and then I will tell my younger brother that I am exhausted, my clothes are getting wider and I am thinner, and the food silver has been cut. I hope my younger brother will eat more for me."

"Uh... the servants lead the decree..." Wang Tiqian didn't know what to say, he was at a loss for words, and it took a while before he answered quickly.

Soon, taking advantage of the darkness, the memorial was approved and sent to Prince Qi's Mansion at the same time as the gate of the capital opened wide on the second day.

At that time, Zhu Youjian had just got off Yuan Xipin's bed, and after politely rejecting Yuan Xipin's words to rest more, he washed up and prepared to go to Chengyun Hall.

When he just finished washing his face, he saw Cao Huachun walk into the Hall of Cultivation with a strange expression on his face.

"Your Highness, this is the memorial issued by Long Live."

Cao Huachun handed over the memorial with weird hands, and Zhu Youjian also wiped the water droplets on his hands with a towel, took the memorial and opened it.

When he saw the red circle approved by Zhu Youxiao, he couldn't help being amused, and when he saw Zhu Youxiao's words that "clothes gradually widen and people become thinner", Zhu Ciran's words on Zhengdan Day could not help but rang in his mind.

"My father gives people the feeling that he has been wronged, but in fact, I heard from my mother that he had a great time playing in Dading Palace and Zhongxia Palace."

Thinking of Zhu Ciran's words, Zhu Youjian laughed immediately: "This father and son..."

He didn't go into details, but looked down, and when he saw Zhu Youxiao asked him to help him eat more, Zhu Youjian knew that this guy was crying poor, for fear that he would find him again next time.

But my brother, if he doesn't kill him, he won't kill him.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian also closed the memorial, and smiled at Cao Huachun: "Now we have the mechanical silver for the next eight or nine years."

"Yes, but your highness, isn't it a bit too bullying for Long Live?" Cao Huachun said cautiously, but Zhu Youjian gave him a blank look:
"You really should go to Dading Palace to live for a few days, and see if my good brother is getting thinner because of the widening of his belt, or if the jade belt around his waist is so tight that he can't breathe."

"The meal silver of ten taels of silver per day is enough to buy a cow."

"Worried about him, you might as well worry about our meal at noon today."

Zhu Youjian was talking about Cao Huachun, but Cao Huachun knew it was just teasing, so he couldn't help laughing and said: "If Your Highness wants, Chengyun Hall can also cook three meals at ten taels of silver per day."

"You know what I'm talking about is teasing." Zhu Youjian was being changed by the female officials, so he was very helpless to Cao Huachun's teasing.

"Slaves too..." Cao Huachun smiled and saluted.

On the contrary, when the two were teasing, Yuan Xibing also walked out of the bedroom in a middle coat and heard the conversation between the two.

"His Royal Highness's food allowance should be improved. The Royal Envoy said that His Highness has been tired for a long time and needs to replenish his body."

Yuan Xipin took over the work from the female officer and dressed Zhu Youjian.

Her words made Cao Huachun couldn't help but nod, because Zhu Youjian's meal silver was indeed too little.

"One or two dollars a day, four hundred cash per meal, that's a lot."

With a smile on his face, Zhu Youjian looked down at Yuan Xipin who was changing his clothes. In his opinion, his meal money was indeed quite a lot.

One tael a day, and more than 400 taels a year. Zhu Youjian is already very satisfied with this kind of dietary standard, after all, he can't eat too much.

"Four hundred words is a lot, but you are His Royal Highness Qi Wang, you can't eat even some wealthy businessmen in Beijing, right?"

Yuan Xipin dressed Zhu Youjian, and the female officer brought a chair for him to sit down.

While Yuan Xibing was complaining, she was also combing Zhu Youjian's hair and wearing a crown.

"What about King Qi? He's not a man of flesh and blood."

"The people can eat, but I can't eat it?" Zhu Youjian smiled and comforted Yuan Xipin: "If you didn't keep telling me to eat more, I would imagine that I would come here from time to time like what was written in Brother Ran's "Travel Notes". Mix porridge with wild vegetables for a few days."

"If His Highness eats like that, then the sisters and children in the harem will not even dare to eat meat."

Yuan Xipin tied her hair and put on a crown for Zhu Youjian. Seeing her stop, Zhu Youjian also stood up, turned around and hugged her regardless of everyone's eyes:

"Then Princess Qi needs to appease them more, and don't starve the orphaned concubines and heirs."

After all, Zhu Youjian took advantage of Yuan Xipin's shyness, turned around and led Cao Huachun out of the Palace of Cultivation.

When Yuan Xipin came back to her senses, she could only complain to Zhu Youjian's back:
"I don't care about my body, and I will feel uncomfortable in the future. Your Highness, don't let me serve you."

Having said that, all the female officials around Yuan Xipin knew that if King Qi felt uncomfortable, Princess Qi might have to wait on her every step, so everyone couldn't help but bow their heads and smile.

(End of this chapter)